Kirk Makin
From Monday’s Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Mar. 22, 2010 3:49AM EDT
Toronto’s bid to stage a memorable Pan American Games in 2015 received an important boost from students at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
They voted in favour of a financial levy to support a new athletics and recreation complex.
Sixty-two per cent of the 2,300 students who voted in a referendum supported financing the complex that would be ready in time for the games.
The levy will be paid as part of each student’s fee package over a 25-year period.
The $30-million raised through the levy represents 18 per cent of the total value of the $171-million complex.
The remaining 82 per cent will be contributed by the university and federal, provincial and city governments.
The athletics and recreation complex will feature two Olympic-sized pools, a 10-metre diving tank and a state-of-the-art multi-sport field house, and will be a legacy facility to be constructed for the 2015 Pan and Para-pan American Games.
The existing athletics facility at the campus was designed for 4,000 students - well under half of those who now attend.
“This really demonstrates an unparalleled commitment that our students have for creating a bright future for the campus and the community,” said Franco Vaccarino, principal of University of Toronto Scarborough, and vice-president of University of Toronto.
“This is a legacy that will be here for many, many years after the Pan Am Games,” he said.
“What is important to me is the integrity, passion and leadership that these students have shown.”
Toronto Mayor David Miller said in a release yesterday that he was "incredibly pleased with the strong yes-vote.
"The students and the community in Scarborough have been vastly underserved in athletic facilities for too long and that is going to change. UTSC Students and Torontonians alike all deserve a world-class aquatic facility.
“This centre single-handedly doubles the number of 50-metre pools in Toronto and is consistent with the city’s long-term pools strategy.”